Wednesday, February 01, 2006

Special Guest Wednesday

This week I'm proud to introduce Sonia Singh. Her word was Chemistry:

Chemistry, n. The art and science of attraction, proficiency in the latter being the death of the former.

About Sonia: Sonia is a research chemist at Amgen where she works on projects which, if successful, will produce the next generation of medicine for rheumatoid arthritis and if unsuccessful, male enhancement.

Born in Amritsar, Punjab, India and raised in Augusta, Georgia, Sonia is a redneck on two continents. For three years my ex, and for eight the Desi to my Lucy, Ms. Singh is in the Guiness Book of World Records for swallowing churlishness. Sonia and I met in 1995 when she was an intern at The Carter Center. An impeachment hearing later, that story wasn't as cute as it once had been. She is mother to my dogs, Willie and Walela, who say "Good job, Mom! Bring bones! Dad doesn't feed us properly."

Sonia lives in Santa Monica, California, practices Ayengar yoga and vegetarianism and is a registered Democrat. Central casting assures us that she made each of these decisions independent from any stereotype. Sonia is widely admired for her cleverness and kindness although usually not at the same time.

How to be a future guest on this site: Just send an email to dpascover at mac dot com. On a future Wednesday, after posting that week's guest, I'll send you an email with a word to define. You'll be expected to return your definition along with a graphic representing either your definition or yourself by the following Saturday. The only rules are no profanity and no novels, please. And whatever I make up at the last minute. Oh, and rabbit! rabbit!

37 comments:

Anonymous said...

Good job, Sonia.
And further on the subject of chemistry, Lucy, I think you have some explaining to do. That was an interesting glimpse of a love story.

Anonymous said...

Totally agree with Weirdso; great definition

Nice to meet you. But could anybody be Desi to Doug's Lucy?

Minka said...

Sonia, pleasure to meet you! Well done on your definition and being a good mom to Doug´s dogs!

chemistry, n. an art related to cooking
verifier:qbdnsvld -a new chemical discovered in a tube, sorrounded by vapour and fumes. Similar to quicksilver, but with two more negative elctrons attached to the surface of the oxygen molecule!

Doug The Una said...

Thanks, Actonbell. Willie and Walela vote "aye"

Weirsdo, thanks but one of the great pleasures of the bachelor life is that I don't have any 'splainin' to do. You listening. Mireille?

Thanks, Pia. I'm as curious as you are.

Thanks, Monika. You know, Germans were renowned for their contributions to chemistry even before the verifier was invented.

Minka said...

Doug, you mean physicists rather than chemists. We chemists combine atoms, not split them. Which is good news for the rest of the world in any case.

Lila said...

Rabbit, rabbit!

Sonia sounds like a groovy woman! Great definition.

I ♥ Apu.

Miz BoheMia said...

Sonia, thou art fascinating. A fellow yogi! Good definition and Namaste my friend!

Doug, bohemians looooveee love stories! Loved hearing a bit of yours...

Chemistry... the sizzlin' between 2 hearts...

Awww! Corny is the name of the game it seems! Let me try again...

Chemistry~ A class I did well in in high school but never have used since... NEVER!

Sar said...

So nice to meet you Sonia, ex of Doug, mommy of Lady Walela and Willie The Wonderdog and most importantly fellow female Dem! No wonder Doug's kept you hidden away, you sure can give him a run for the money in the clever definition department. (Sorry Doug, there's a good doggie *pat pat*.)

Chemistry: Emotional Crazy Glue, establishing the bond between 2 people and ocassionaly animals.

mireille said...

A cure for rheumatoid arthritis? Or male enhancement? I don't know what to hope for. And, congratulations, Sonia, on your tenacity. xoxo

mireille said...

Oh, I'm listening, Doug. Believe me, I'm listening. You 'splainin? xoxo

mireille said...

oh, one more: chemistry. The unexplainable given tangibility in the strangest ways. xoxo

Mikki Marshall said...

I am new to this place and just now learning the ways around here and meeting Doug himself. But it appears that I am not the only one first making acquaintance with Sonia! Hello and excellent job at the word play.

Chemistry (n) explosives of the heart which detonate at first glance.

Oh Yes Rabbit Rabbit!

Doug The Una said...

Haha, Monika. Good news, indeed. Does Iceland have WMD?

Aral, Groovy indeed. We all heart Apu, but I'm sure you Hindus especially. Rabbit, rabbit! (I tried to get you at midnight but I drifted off in a post- State of the Union slumber)

Miz B, if corny's the name of the game, you acquitted yourself beautifully. I'm impressed you did well in Chemistry. I took it 3 times without finishing.

Always animals, Sar.

Mireille, good definition. I don't 'splain.

Great definition, Still life. Rabbit, rabbit.

Ariel the Thief said...

"widely admired for her cleverness and kindness although usually not at the same time" - does not that tells a lot of a great woman? hi, Sonia, keep up the good work, I look forward the rheumatoid arthritis. art, well, I have that on my shelves. :)

PS don't worry, Doug, there's no dog that will ever admit that he's fed properly...

Cooper said...

Great definition, nice to meet the mother of the dogs.

Chemistry...ah....that old class where they tried to convince me that matter matters.

Sreekesh Menon said...

Chemistry : the art to measure and treasure the finer elements of life.

Chemisty : the science to catalyze every reaction today.

Chemistry : the game every atom plays.

Alana said...

Rabbit, Rabbit!

Ah yes, I’m quite certain that it’s a Universal law that every Lucy must have a Desi somehow currently or significantly in their life…I was wondering when we would hear more about yours Doug.

Welcome Sonia, You sound like a wonderful mom to Willie and Wilela (and frankly, I’m a little relieved, I was beginning to worry about what kind of upbringing they may have had). Also, congratulations on that world record of yours, I am sure it is well deserved. Love the definition!

Anonymous said...

Hi Sonita: Good to see you on W.A. Perhaps if your chemical experimentation doesn't work on arthritis or a Viagra replacement you can work on a pill for over sixty year olds who wish to be able to do "downward dog" without vomiting!

Doug The Una said...

Thanks, Ariel. It's true. They scandalize my name without reason.

Alice, well put. I was never convinced.

Sreekesh, three excellent definitions. Play on, crazy atom!

Thanks, Square Girl.

Hi, Mama! 60-year-olds?

Anonymous said...

Great definition! I have always been convinced that Sonia is really a Pascover (of course that's a compliment to all things Pascover) - her zingers are something to behold. Good to see you on Dougie's blog, hope to see you this weekend while I'm in town!

Lil' Fresh

Jamie Dawn said...

Sonia is sassy! Sonia is witty!
I had to reread that definition to get the full impact. Sonia is smart! My dearest, best friend suffers from RA. I wish you success in your work so you can help people like her.

Chemistry: In high school, I made up a sing-songy poem and taught it to my friends to help us memorize the elements. It had a really memorable hook to it, but... I forgot it now. No more Chemistry for me!

Semisweet1 said...

Well done, Sonia. I laughed, I cried . . . Those poor chemists! Why don't they go to ScientistsAreSexy.com? Hot brainy lab techs are waiting for you RIGHT NOW!

Doug The Una said...

Hey, 'Na yes, the mouth blended well, didn't it?

Jamie Dawn, Sonia's all that. If you remember the mnemonic, I'd love it. Did I mention I took Chem 3 times without finishing?

S, I knew there were sites for every known perversion, but that's going TOO FAR!!! There ought to be a law.

Anonymous said...

Aw Shucks! You like me, you really really like me! I haven't felt this much love from total strangers since that time I got lost in West Hollywood! To all my old friends ('na, mamasita, semisweet1, shreekesh) and all my new friends, thanks for the kind comments (first times can be very hard) and your personal definitions shed a whole new light on the subject! Thanks for letting me share your space -hey, I was promised a t-shirt!!

Doug The Una said...

Son, well done! I can't believe you're still trying to convince me those were strangers.

Anonymous said...

Doug - where do you think my bonus went this year?
also re: our products, if successful, producing medicine for RA and if unsuccessful for male enhancement - maybe tomorrow you should define success??

Minka said...

Sonia, we were all first-timers here once upon a time. I remember lurking around for a while, before I made my first comment. But Doug somehow manages to draw you in. In the end your comments are sometimes good, sometimes less good, but it is always a fun ride. Except of course when somebody comments a second before you and says exactly what you wanted to say...or you read something and slap your hand to your forehead exclaiming: ´Bugger, I wish I´d thought of that´. Lately I have been focusing on just commenting first, figuring: you can always succeed at something:)

dddragon said...

Rabbit Rabbit!

But who got the long, long trailer? I can guess where the rocks are!

Anonymous said...

AAAARRRGH
rabbit blankety rabbit!!
I have tried to comment 4 times and blogger hates me!!
I have incredibly clever things to say the first two times, the third time was awful and now I am barely capable of coherent THOUGHT!
Bad words
and
colorful metaphors!!
Oh, and good job, Sonia, I had something worth saying earlier, I swear it, it was witty even.
Oh well.
Nice to meet you.
mutter mutter
this better work

Anonymous said...

As Doug's [first] dad I read these posts with bemusement and occasionally pride. Good definition Sonia. It is worrisome that the chemical attraction continues only so long as it remains unsatisfied [never mind, a tough day at the office.]

Those of you that liked Sonia immediately got it exactly right. She is a prize.

Anonymous said...

Loved the story...

As my old Chemistry teacher would say with a lisp "Chemistry is everywhere."

"Chemistry is found between me and my Mick Jagger or me and my Tim McGraw... yeah... that is Chemistry!"

dddragon said...

btw, I keep looking for a link to a blog for Sonia!

Doug The Una said...

Sonia, I'll give it a whirl.

That was nice, Monika. Thank You.

Actonbell, not too refined for Foghorn Leghorn, I see. God bless you.

Forgive me, Dddragon, you went over my head with that one.

Logo, I have no doubt it was brilliant. A loss to literature, a loss to us but thanks for pushing through.

Hey, Pop! First time? She always was your favorite.

Shayna, which is the reactant, which the reagent and which the participant. Sorry, did I mention I never finished chem? I should have tried it with a lisp.

We all do, Dddragon. Tell her about it.

Sponge Girl said...

Chemistry: Things that go kablooey.

Ariel the Thief said...

@Sonia - it impresses me that someone mentions science as art. science is already mute there where art still speaks in million voices.

@Doug's 1th dad - isn't that the same with all attractions? :-/

dddragon said...

The Long, Long Trailer was the name of a Lucy/Desi movie.

Doug The Una said...

Sponge girl, great definition.

Ariel, don't encourage him ;-)

Thank you, Dddragon. I had no idea. A trailer was more wealth than we had to divide up.